Safe With Me
by PrinRue
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless are no strangers to crash landings. However, things are a lot harder when they find their prosthetics useless because of it. Add to that an oncoming blizzard, and you have a recipe for disaster. Hiccup/Toothless bonding and whump. Cover art is mine!
1. Chapter 1

**How's it going, peoples? I am back already with my next chapter adventure! This time, we're going to spend some time with the How to Train your Dragon universe. **

**This takes place during the Riders of Berk series, so the teens are around sixteen in it. **

**I hope you all enjoy!**

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Isn't it funny how the worst days always seem to start out great?

When Hiccup woke up that January morning, all was right in his world. His home was warm and comfortable. His mind and body were well rested. His best friend was laying on his stone slab beside him. His father was downstairs cooking breakfast, a rarity considering his occupation. It was perfect.

Stretching, Hiccup pushed aside his wool blankets, the movement instantly waking his dragon.

"Mornin', bud," Hiccup said, his voice still weak with sleep. The dragon warbled a reply, making the young Viking smile. "Whaddya say we get something to eat?" Toothless grinned gummily at the idea.

The boy and his companion made their way down the stairs, the enticing scent of smoking salmon filling their noses.

"Mornin' son," Stoick greeted without even turning around. "Want some breakfast?"

"As long as there's some for this overgrown lizard, here," Hiccup answered, earning a playful whack on the arm from Toothless' tail. "What?" He asked innocently.

"Aye, I wouldn't forget about yeh," Stoick said to the Night Fury, "'Course, yer fish is a little less cooked than ours." He motioned to a basket of raw salmon beside the dining table. Toothless bounded up to the chief, managing to get in a big lick on his face before plunging his head into his breakfast.

"Eugh…" Stoick wiped the slobber from his face, looking only _mildly _disgusted. "How do yeh put up with tha' all the time?" He asked Hiccup, getting a laugh from the teen.

"Really I have no choice. Either I let him do it or I suffer his wrath."

The father chuckled along with his son, sitting down at the table across from him. For a minute, they ate in comfortable silence, before Stoick spoke again.

"So, wha' plans do yeh have for today?"

"Probably just a nice morning flight with Toothless."

"Aye. Just be sure not to stay out too long. Bucket says there'll be a snowstorm later."

"Don't worry. It'll just be long enough to get his energy out."

By the time the father and son finished their meal, Toothless had long been done and was waiting impatiently for his rider. When Hiccup finally got up to get his saddle and tail, the dragon began hopping up and down excitedly.

"Toothless, stop, you're really not helping," Hiccup said as he struggled with the gear. Toothless obeyed, only just enough to allow the boy to complete the task. He practically threw Hiccup onto his back before barreling through the door and leaping into the air.

Yep, the worst days always seem to start out great.

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**I actually already have almost all of this story written, so you can expect a chapter a day! (wow that's unheard of lol)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, friends, I am back with the next chapter if SWM! In this one, things get a little more serious. Its also the shortest of the chapters. **

**Enjoy!**

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"Woo-hoo-hoo!"

Hiccup whooped again as he and Toothless went into a steep dive, the sea below getting closer and closer, until the dragon extended his wings and they swooped up. Toothless roared, shooting a plasma blast high into the sky, which exploded in a bright flash.

The friends were by the far side of the island Berk was built on, out by the sea stacks and small barrier isles. The seclusion made for a much more fun experience for both of them.

"Ready to try our new trick, bud?" Hiccup asked once their flight leveled out. Toothless snorted in reply. _I'm always ready. _

"I knew you'd be up for it!" Hiccup clicked the tail into place. "Climb, Toothless!" Toothless obeyed, beating his wings harder than before.

Once they'd ascended far past the tallest sea stack, Hiccup unclipped his riding vest from the saddle. "And… drop!" He unhooked his foot from the stirrup and jumped off. Toothless pulled his wings to his body and joined his rider in a freefall.

"Yeah!" Hiccup grinned through the rushing winds at his best friend. Toothless grinned back.

"Positions!" Toothless maneuvered so he was falling underneath the human. "And… wings!" The dragon extended his wings, stopping himself from the freefall. Hiccup landed on his back, quickly resetting the pedals before they crashed into the ocean.

"Yeah! We did it!" Hiccup cheered, rubbing Toothless' head. Toothless himself let out his own victory screech.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, he hadn't realized how much closer to the island they were than before. He looked up from his celebration to be faced with an all too fast approaching treeline. "Toothless!" He cried out, yanking on the saddle in a desperate attempt to pull up. Toothless reared up, unsure of what to do to stop their movement.

The pair managed to dodge the rock cliff, but weren't able to make it beyond the trees. The first tree they hit sent Hiccup flying off of Toothless, as he hadn't gotten to reattach his vest yet. The moment he felt the weight leave his back, panic set in the Night Fury. He watched helplessly as his human crashed through the foliage, trying his hardest to catch him.

Of course, as irony would have it, the only place he was able to grab was the boy's prosthetic leg, but it was just enough for him to get a hold and pull him close.

A split second later, they hit the ground.

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**And our friends have crashed. Who could've predicted that? It certainly wasn't in the synopsis lol. **

**Hope you'll join me tomorrow for more!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy chapter 3!**

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Cold.

The first thing that registered in Toothless' body. The cold, sharper than it was when they left home. Toothless' scales were thick and helped him keep warm, but even he could feel the chill seeping into his skin.

Toothless groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He stretched each of his appendages, testing them for injuries. His right wing hurt, as it had taken the brunt of the impact, but he could still move it, at least. Once he was sure he wasn't broken anywhere, he turned his attention to the small form clutched in his grasp. Gently, he let Hiccup go, shuffling over to the side to get a better look at him.

The boy's eyes were closed, but he was still breathing fine, every once in a while making a small noise. Toothless sniffed every bit of him, and thankfully didn't pick up any scent of blood. There were a few bruises here and there, but he was okay. Now he just needed to wake up.

Toothless scooped his friend back into his grip, wrapping his wings around the two of them. The dragon let out a quiet whimper, looking around at their surroundings. The trees were thick, and he couldn't see much sky. To their right was a small rock face on a hill, and to the left somewhere was the ocean. He sniffed the air. It smelled like snow, but there was no more on the ground than the light dusting from last night. That meant it would probably snow soon. If Hiccup was still asleep when the snow came… that wouldn't be good.

Toothless turned his head back toward the rock face. He could see a bit of an indentation in it; maybe there was a cave over there they could take shelter in. He decided it was worth a shot.

Making sure his teeth were well within his gums, Toothless gently bit down on the back of the boy's shirt, lifting him over his back. Once he was on, the dragon slightly extended his wings to help keep his friend stable. Perfect; now he just had to get the both of them to safety.

He _would _get both of them to safety.

Toothless started his trek into the trees, carefully pawing his way through the brush so as not to harm his human. It took a long time with all the extra caution, but eventually the pair made it to the rocks.

Just as Toothless had hoped, the indent he'd seen was a small cavern. It went back maybe fifteen feet, just enough for the dragon to curl up comfortably inside with Hiccup. He let the boy slide off his back before curling his body around him, tight and secure. Toothless laid his head next to his best friend's, eyes fixed on the entrance to their shelter.

_You'll always be safe with me._

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**Title drop! Anyway, loving Toothless is best Toothless. He'd do anything for his human :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy chapter 4!**

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Waking from unconsciousness is nothing like waking from sleep. Hiccup would know, as he'd already done it more times than he should've, from giant dragon battles to lightning strikes.

When you wake up from sleep, you almost always remember where you were and what you were doing. When you wake up from unconsciousness, you're almost always confused and scared, and can't remember what happened before.

Hiccup slowly pulled himself from the depths of darkness, finally opening his overly-heavy eyes… only to panic at the blackness shrouding him. He couldn't remember where he was, or what had happened; he could only feel some kind of undulating warm mass and could see nothing. The confused boy began struggling against the thing holding him, pushing his weakened muscles to escape, only for the thing to move away from him and reveal two giant green eyes.

Hiccup blinked, then suddenly it all came back to him. Flying with Toothless, doing a new trick, trying to dodge a cliff, and then crashing. As soon as it became clear again, despite his aches, Hiccup threw himself into a hug with his dragon.

"Toothless! You're okay!" He said, relief filling his voice. The Night Fury responded with a big lick to his human's face. Hiccup laughed, then finally got a good look at his surroundings.

"Where are we, bud?" He had no inkling of where they could've landed. Plus, they were in a cave of some sort, and he remembered hitting a tree, so clearly they had moved. "Did- did you bring us here?" Toothless nodded. "Thanks, Toothless. Now let's see if we can figure out where we are." Hiccup stood, only to immediately lose balance and fall on his back. Confused, he pushed himself to a sitting position and searched for the problem.

Great. He sighed and pulled his left leg closer. The metal piece of his prosthetic was almost completely missing, the only bit remaining being the piece connected to the wood. The actual foot itself was no longer there, explaining why he'd fallen.

Toothless came over to see what his friend was doing, only to notice that the human's artificial leg was broken. How had he missed that when he was checking over Hiccup? Suddenly, the dragon realized it was his fault in the first place. He recalled their fall, and that being the only place he'd been able to get a hold of. Toothless rumbled apologetically to Hiccup, nudging his shoulder with his head.

The boy sighed again, understanding the apology in his dragon's gesture.. "It's alright, Toothless. I know you didn't mean to." He rubbed Toothless' head affectionately. "To be honest, I needed to make a new one anyway." _I just didn't think it would be because of something like this. _Hiccup made a mental note to start carrying spare parts in the future.

With the contraption useless, Hiccup untied the rope and pulled it off completely. Maybe the string and wood would be useful for something else. "How about you? How're you holding up?" Hiccup asked his dragon.

Toothless moved his tail out in front of him and tilted his head, flexing his fin. Hiccup looked over Toothless' tail, which seemed to be undamaged. That was good. Hiccup had tweaked the rigging earlier so it could still be operated with just one stirrup, however not as well. He scooted to the saddle rig, using his hand to push the pedal. His heart sank when the telltale clicking didn't sound. Something was wrong with it.

Hiccup mumbled a few choice words of frustration, which Toothless returned with a questioning grumble. "Broken." Hiccup angrily pushed himself to his foot, using Toothless for balance. "And even if it wasn't, I can't exactly operate it fully right now. Not that it matters anyway. I have no idea where we are." He took a couple hops toward the cave mouth, looking outside for anything familiar. But there was nothing. Nothing but trees, rocks, and the first flurries of snow swirling to the ground.

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**As we know in RTTE, Hiccup always carries spare legs and tails when going out. That kind of makes you wonder why he started doing it. Well... it probably started because a situation happened where they needed it and didn't have it. Thus my little origin for that quirk of his. **

**Join me tomorrow for the continuation!**


	5. Chapter 5

**In this chapter, we check back with the other teens on Berk. **

**Enjoy!**

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Back in Berk, as the flurries turned to a steady light snow, concern began to rise among Hiccup's friends.

"He told Stoick he was just going to get Toothless' energy out. He should've been back hours ago," Astrid said, turning her ax over and over in her hands; it was a nervous habit.

"Maybe they stopped for lunch?" Fishlegs' uneasy voice suggested.

"Guys, stop worrying," Snotlout shook his head. "It's Hiccup. He's safe; he's _always _safe."

"Well, there was that time he got struck by lightning," Tuffnut began, counting off his fingers. "And kidnapped by Alvin. And stuck in a collapsed ice cave. And fell into an explosion. And lost his-"

"We get it, Tuff," Ruffnut said, elbowing her twin. "Hiccup's an accident magnet."

"Which is _exactly _why I'm worried," Astrid finished.

"Awww, you care so much about him!" Snotlout teased.

Astrid scoffed. "Me? I'm just going to save his idiotic butt so I can give him a piece of my mind." The girl stood up, still twirling her ax, and started toward the exit of the training ring. "Let's go tell Stoick." As soon as she was out of earshot the twins and Snotlout shared snickers. No matter how tough Astrid was, they all knew she had a soft spot for Berk's scrawny heir.

The five teens made their way through the snow to the Meade Hall. It was the most likely place to find the Chief during a snowstorm, as it was where most of the Vikings in town hid out.

"Chief? Are you here?" Astrid called out, her voice echoing against the cavernous walls.

"Wha' is it, Astrid?" The large man came pounding toward the teens, stopping before them, arms crossed. Thor, he was frightening; how did Hiccup survive having someone so intimidating for a father?

"Uh, it's Hiccup," the blond replied. "He's not back yet, and the snow is getting heavier."

Stoick's eyes softened at the mention of his son. "Hm." He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "If he's not back by dinnertime, I'll send out a search party."

Astrid felt her chest lift in relief, but it was short lived. Stoick wasn't finished. "But I expect every one of yeh five to stay put. No goin' out in this weather to look for 'im." He pointed at each of the teens. "Tha's an _order._ Understand?"

"Yes, chief!" Fishlegs answered quickly, followed by the twins and Snotlout.

"Astrid?" Stoick said in a warning tone. "Understand?"

She sighed. "Yes, chief."

The man nodded, before turning and heading over to talk to his men about the situation. As soon as he was occupied, Astrid went back out into the cold, the other four kids running after her.

"Astrid? What're you doing?" Fishlegs called after her.

"Going to find Hiccup."

"But- but the Chief specifically said not to!"

"I know what he said. But I also know that by dinnertime the snow will be ten times worse." Astrid pulled open the door to the dragon stables. Stormfly, hearing her human's voice, excitedly squawked and nuzzled her arm. Astrid turned to the rest of the teens. "Now you can either come with me or you can stay here and continue worrying."

"Worrying? Psh, who said anything about worrying?" Snotlout said. "But fine, I'll tag along. Just to make sure you kids stay safe and all."

"And _we're_ coming just so we can do the opposite of that!" Tuffnut added, gesturing to himself and his sister.

"Fishlegs?" Astrid asked. The large boy looked around, making sounds of distress, before finally relenting.

"Fine. I'll go too. I can't risk something terrible happening to him."

"Good." Astrid got close to the trembling boy's face. "Not like you had a choice anyway." She grinned at the fear, before laughing and turning back to everyone. "Wings up in five minutes!"

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**I tried hard to make sure everyone was true to their characters. Hopefully it shows! **

**The way I see it, at this point in their relationship, Astrid feels something for Hiccup, but doesn't want to acknowledge it. Of course, we all know how it ends, haha. **

**Hope you'll all join me tomorrow! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so this has nothing to do with this story, but is just something kind of funny. My family was watching TV and turned on the movie ****_The Sorcerer's Apprentice, _****none of us knowing what it was. We start watching it, and then my dad says, "that main characters sounds familiar." I look it up, and freaking Jay Baruchel is the lead. It was way to disorienting to watch this man with curly black hair speaking in Hiccup's voice, and I could not stop laughing. I thought Baruchel changed his voice for Hiccup, but apparently that's just what he sounds like! XD**

**Anyway... enjoy chapter 6!**

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Hiccup snuggled in closer to Toothless' side, eyeing the snow worriedly. Within only a minute, it'd gone from flurries to a steady snowfall. If they didn't get out there soon… they'd be trapped.

He wasn't prepared to wait out a snowstorm. It was supposed to be a quick flight, then back to Berk. He didn't have his heavy fur coat, or food, or more than the canteen of water in his saddlebag. Well, he could always melt down snow to drink… but the food was a different issue. So was the cold. With just his wool shirt and leather riding vest, there wasn't much in the way of warmth.

Why hadn't he just told Toothless it was too cold? That the storm was coming too fast? That they'd have to wait to go flying? But Toothless was just _too _eager, always needing to go out, no matter the weather.

_No. _Hiccup mentally scolded himself. _It's not Toothless' fault. I wanted to go, too. Stop blaming others._

Hiccup exhaled sharply, completely and utterly unsure of what to do. Toothless looked back at him at the noise, tilting his head in concern.

"What do we do, Toothless?" The boy muttered, mostly to himself. Yet the dragon still responded with a low croon. "I mean… I'm always the guy with the plan… but I don't know what to do. Maybe if our stupid prosthetics were functional, we could just fly around until we see something. But of _course_ that's not the case…"

Toothless looked down, feeling his human's frustration. If only they weren't so dependent on a couple inventions...

Both boy and dragon looked back to the storm outside. It really was only going to get worse. Maybe their best shot was to get moving before it turned into a full blown blizzard.

"Whaddya say, Bud? Should we look around a bit?" Hiccup asked. Toothless responded by flattening himself on the rock, letting his person climb onto his back. Once situated, the pair made their way out of the cave and into the snow.

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**And the friends are off once again! What could possibly go wrong?**


	7. Chapter 7

**As you can probably guess, the next chapter goes back to check on our ragtag search party. Also. I lied. This is the shortest chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

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Astrid squinted through the snowfall, having Stormfly bank right again. It was hopeless; even if the snow was falling lighter, the bright reflection off what was already on the ground made it near impossible to see. They were flying blind.

"Astriiiiid. Can we go home already? We're never gonna find him." Snotlout whined from behind her. "Plus, it's too cold out here! I can't feel my legs anymore!"

"That's funny, considering you're the one with the dragon who can _set himself on fire,_" Astrid replied, annoyed. "Should warm you right up!"

"Actually, Astrid, I… think Snotlout's right," Fishlegs said.

"Wait, when am I not?" The black-haired boy asked, the comment dutifully ignored by everyone else.

"We can't see anything out here," Fishlegs continued. "Maybe we should head back."

"Not until we've circled this entire island!" Astrid said, not even looking at the others. "Besides… if we go back now, Stoick will know we were gone. We have to sneak back when the storm is heavier."

"Hey guys." Tuffnut said.

"Not now, Tuff." Astrid answered.

"Guys!"

"I said not now!"

"Do Timberjacks fly this far north?"

Astrid finally turned toward the Zippleback and their riders. "What?"

"I said, do Timberjacks fly this far north?" The male twin pointed over to a section of trees a quarter mile away. Even from their vantage point, they could see several of the pines had snapped in half.

"No, they don't." Fishlegs said. "So what could've caused that?"

"_Hiccup…_" Astrid whispered. She shook her head, laughing slightly before saying, "By Odin's beard, Tuffnut, I think you actually said something useful for once."

"Yes!" Tuff cheered, clearly missing the implications. "High five!" He and Ruffnut slapped hands.

"Alright, everybody fly to those trees!" Astrid ordered, promptly zooming off with Stormfly. The other teens followed suit. "We're coming, Hiccup!"

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**Again, trying to match the characters as best I can :)**

**See you tomorrow! (Cue the music! ...please tell me I'm not the only one who knows the names of every song from these movies' soundtracks...)**


	8. Chapter 8

**And we're back to check in on our boy and dragon duo! I had to post two chapters today because the last one was ridiculously short, haha.**

**Enjoy!**

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Hiccup and Toothless had been out for what felt like hours, with no sign of any familiar landmarks. But that's the thing about snow: it makes everything look the same.

_Why didn't we just stay put? _Hiccup thought, wrapping his arms around himself, teeth chattering. _It's too cold to be out here._ And now they'd gone too far to remember where the cave was, so going back wasn't an option. Hiccup mentally kicked himself for suggesting they leave.

Toothless glanced worriedly back at his passenger. He knew humans didn't have the same tolerance to cold that dragons did, and his human was clearly freezing. What they needed was to be able to fly; even if the wind made it colder, the vantage point would let them find shelter much faster. Toothless rumbled at his friend, getting his attention.

"Wh-what is it, Bud?" Hiccup asked.

The dragon extended his wings, flapping them lightly a couple times.

"I know. It'd make it a lot easier. But we c-can't fly with your saddle broken."

_"Check it again?" _Toothless came to a stop under a large pine tree.

"I g-guess I could look for the problem." Hiccup let himself slide off Toothless' back, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to get feeling back in them. "Okay." He started at the saddle, inspecting the pedals, but nothing seemed to be wrong with them. It all still moved correctly; he should know, since it was his invention.

_It should be working. I don't get it. _Hiccup scooted down further, following the rope line. Finally, he spotted the issue. Near Toothless' right secondary wing, the rope had snapped. Hiccup cursed to himself, picking up both ends. Without slack, he couldn't tie it back together. Toothless looked back to see what his human found.

"It's the rope. Snapped during the fall." The boy wracked his brain for a solution. Suddenly, Toothless' ears perked up; he knew what to do!

The Night Fury turned so he was facing Hiccup, then nudged his friend's left leg and gestured to his saddlebags. _"Use your extra rope!" _

Hiccup followed his dragon's gestures from his missing prosthetic to the bag where he'd put it. "Toothless, you're a genius!" With newfound energy, the boy pulled out the rope from the bag. It was a lot thinner than the rope he used for Toothless, but with several knots, it should hold. Hiccup worked as fast as he could through his frozen feeling fingers, tying the pieces together as tight as possible. Once satisfied, he climbed back on the saddle, sliding his foot in the stirrup. "Alright, let's s-see if this works." Holding his breath, he pushed the pedal down, nearly jumping in joy when the tail responded. Toothless let out his own sound of victory, waiting for his friend's signal before taking to the skies.

Once airborne, Hiccup looked back at the tail, eyeing it worriedly. "Now let's just hope it stays together long enough."

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**So they can fly! But surely it can't be that easy, oh no... *laughs evily* **


	9. Chapter 9

**Do you ever wonder if characters from things you like can rub off on you? I swear, it's possible. **

**Anyway... enjoy chapter 9!**

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As soon as she landed, Astrid jumped off of Stormfly, the rest of the Riders following suit.

"Alright gang, split up," Astrid said. "Stay on the ground, and look for any sign of them. If you find something, use your dragon signals."

"Geez, when did you get so bossy?" Snotlout complained, only to be silenced by a deadly glare from Astrid.

"Don't go too far," she continued. "We don't want anyone else getting lost."

"Got it!" Fishlegs gave a mock salute, then started walking with Meatlug.

"Twins?" Astrid asked.

"We understand, your majesty," Tuff answered.

Ignoring the name, Astrid motioned for the four of them to head in the opposite direction. "Snotlout, you go west. Stormfly and I will search north." The short boy opened his mouth to argue, but Astrid was already gone.

[-]

"Where could they have gone, girl?" Astrid asked her Nadder squawked in reply, and Astrid sighed. It had been over half an hour, yet no one had found anything. To make things worse, the blizzard had dropped nearly six inches of snow in only a few hours. Any footprints Hiccup or Toothless might've left were long gone.

Astrid was seriously starting to worry. She had her winter coat on, but she was still getting cold. Knowing Hiccup, he hadn't bothered to put on his, and he'd been out there for half a day. Astrid wasn't a medic, but she knew that people could die from the cold even when they had warm clothes on. The teen growled in frustration; for someone so smart, Hiccup could be infuriatingly stupid sometimes.

Then again, maybe she was the stupid one. She'd rushed out to search for him without even giving herself time to think. The boy and Night Fury had probably crashed, waited a while to gauge their position, then started their flight home. Hiccup was probably back in the village right now, shaking his head at her idiocy.

Astrid stopped, turning to a nearby tree and kicking it. "Idiot!" Stormfly leaned down to nuzzle her human, hopefully making her feel better. "Thanks, girl. But I'm afraid I made a pretty dumb mistake." Astrid patted her dragon, swinging herself onto her back. "Come on. Let's go round up the others."

Before Stormfly had even had a chance to spread her wings, a blast startled them both. Astrid looked to the sky to see a red explosion fading.

"That's Meatlug's signal! They found something!" Astrid nudged Stormfly. "Let's go!"

[-]

"Fishlegs! Did you find something?" Astrid called as she and Stormfly landed. The rest of the group was already gathered.

"I did, but… it's not exactly good…" the boy answered. "Meatlug and I spotted something in the snow, and... I think our friends might be in more trouble than we originally thought." Fishlegs held out a piece of metal for the group to see.

Astrid felt her heart sink as she took the item from him. She recognized it; this wasn't just some random piece of metal.

It was the foot to Hiccup's prosthetic.

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**And now the rest of the group has a reason to worr****y. And how are Hiccup and Toothless holding up? Find out tomorrow!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

Despite the adjustments Hiccup had made so Toothless could be flown with only one stirrup, it turned out actually doing so was a different story. Hiccup's left side was his dominant side, and it felt unnatural to use his right constantly. He was finding it difficult to keep up with the shifts at his usual pace. Add to that the hastily patched up rope line and frozen body and you had a recipe for disaster. At least the snow had finally slowed back to a light fall.

Toothless looked back at his rider with concern when they took another dip in altitude.

"Sorry, Bud," Hiccup patted his dragon's head, rechecking that his harness was attached. "I'm just not used t-to controlling your tail like this."

Toothless rumbled in understanding, turning back forward. If his human was focused on making sure they didn't fall, he would search the ground for shelter. Toothless scanned the snow, his heart jumping a bit every time he felt himself lose balance momentarily. He wasn't used to Hiccup not shifting his tail seamlessly in sync with him. It probably didn't help that he was not only using his non dominant leg but was also freezing. Toothless was beginning to worry if they'd be able to make it to safety at all.

Something ahead of them caught the dragon's eye, and he whacked his rider with his ear to get his attention. It was far away still, but there looked to be a few plumes of smoke rising in the distance. Could they be nearing Berk again?

Toothless grinned, ecstatic to finally be close to civilization. He could get his human help when they landed, and he'd be back to his old self in no time. The reptile crooned excitedly to Hiccup. _"We're almost home!"_

But his friend didn't respond.

_"Hiccup?" _

Toothless felt his balance completely wane, and he looked back in time to see his human beginning to slide off his saddle.

_"Hiccup!" _

Toothless lost control of their flight, knowing there was nothing he could do to right it on his own. He saw Hiccup's foot slip out of the pedal, and panic set in. The dragon, knowing that at least they were tethered by Hiccup's harness, stretched his wings as far as they would go, pulling his tail down under him. This served to make him like a giant sail, catching all the wind as they fell, slowing them down greatly. Toothless fired a plasma blast as high into the sky as he could, hoping someone in town could see it. That was when Hiccup finally slipped from the saddle, coming to hang by his tether beside Toothless' head. Toothless quickly grabbed onto his shirt and pulled, tearing the leather strap, and gathered his friend into his grasp once more before they hit the ground.

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**Our second crash of the story, yay! Is that bad? Lol **

**Will Hiccup be okay? Well, obviously, but LET ME HAVE FUN!**


	11. Chapter 11

**welcome back to Safe With Me! Enjoy chapter 11!**

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Astrid ran back to Stormfly, putting Hiccup's fake foot up to her nose. It wasn't as good as clothing, but hopefully her dragon could still pick up scent from it. "Can you find them, girl?"

Stormfly sniffed deeply a couple times, then squawked and bent down for her human to get on. "That's my good girl." Astrid turned to the other Riders. "She's got the scent. Follow me!"

Stormfly took off, swiveling her head around as she tried to keep a hold on the scent trail. After a minute of flying, the Nadder landed at a small cave, letting her human get off to check it out. Astrid ran inside, calling her friends' names. But the cavern was empty.

Confused, the teen looked around more closely. Finally, she spotted something, a small black object on the rock. She picked it up, examining it. "Toothless' scale." Astrid let out a frustrated sigh. So they were here, but left. Where could they have gone? She didn't think Hiccup would try flying Toothless without both feet. Then again, he was Hiccup; there were a lot of things he probably shouldn't do but did anyway.

Astrid made her way back out of the cave, met by the expectant faces of her friends.

"Did you find them?" Fishlegs asked.

"No, but they were here. I found one of Toothless' scales." Astrid mounted Stormfly, this time giving her the scale to track, since it had a much stronger scent. Stormfly took off again, with the other dragons on her tail.

"How do you know she can even track them?" Snotlout yelled.

"Because, unlike you, I actually _trust_ my dragon," Astrid replied.

"Hey, if Hookfang was your dragon, you wouldn't trust him either!" Snotlout yelped in pain as Hookfang lit himself ablaze at the insult. "See what I mean?" Hookfang chuckled.

Astrid glared at both dragon and rider, turning forward again. Stormfly took a sharp turn to the left, then almost immediately to the right.

"What's she doing?" Fishlegs asked, trying to keep Meatlug stable.

"I don't know! She's tracking something, but the trail must be all over the place." _I can't imagine why that would be…_ Astrid thought, shaking her head at Hiccup's now apparent stupidity. He really was trying to fly Toothless.

Suddenly, a noise startled all of the Riders.

"Over there!" Ruffnut yelled, pointing. All other heads turned to where her finger was aimed.

"A… a plasma blast?" Fishlegs said as he watched the fading purple explosion. There was only one dragon capable of that.

"That's Toothless' distress signal!" Astrid yelled. "They're in trouble, we have to get to them!"

Without even signalling to the others, Astrid and Stormfly took off. The blast wasn't that far away, and within a minute they had closed the distance.

Astrid quickly spotted the black dragon among the white snow, and jumped off of Stormfly before she had even landed.

"Toothless! Are you hurt? Where's Hiccup?"

Toothless roared, turning frantically around and gesturing to the snow. Astrid ran to where he pointed, the Night Fury continuing to pace beside her. The teen pulled a hand up to her mouth, dropping to her knees by the limp form of the boy.

"Hiccup! Can you hear me?" She pulled his head onto her lap. "Oh, gods, you're freezing."

"Astrid!" Fishlegs voice called out behind her, several thuds indicating the dragons had landed. "Is Hiccup okay?"

"Well, guessing by Toothless' behavior, I'd say no," Snotlout observed.

"We have to get him back to Berk," Astrid said. "Immediately. Fishlegs, help me carry him."

The large boy hurried over to help. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know for sure, but he's way too cold. Vikings have died from being too cold." Astrid looked over to Toothless, who was still pacing and whining.

"Go help Toothless," Fishlegs told her. "I've got Hiccup." He gathered the boy into his arms, grateful for his small frame.

Astrid nodded, making her way over to Toothless. "Hey, calm down, boy!" Toothless stopped, turning to Astrid, his eyes big and full of anguish. Astrid, patted his head, and he leaned into her, whimpering. "It's going to be okay. We have Hiccup now. We're gonna get him to safety." The teen looked over Toothless' flying gear. How would they get the dragon back to Berk without Hiccup? She knew a little bit of his tail controls, but she wasn't sure she could do it with Hiccup's modified left stirrup. She looked back to Toothless' eyes, and the dragon appeared to be understanding her train of thought. "I'm sorry, Toothless. But you're going to have to follow on the ground. Can you do that?"

_"I would do _anything _for him." _Toothless backed up, looking to where Hiccup's friends were helping lift him onto Stormfly. _"Just as he would do for me."_

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**Our groups are finally together! But Hiccup isn't doing so well...**

**Also... is this the longer chapter I've EVER written for anything?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, friends! Back at it again with the story!**

**Enjoy!**

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Astrid wasn't worried easily. She'd faced down tens of dragons in the training ring, all with confidence and ferocity like she'd been taught. But somehow, this stupid, one-legged hiccup of a Viking kept managing to scare her.

Astrid glanced down at her friend. He'd stopped shivering entirely, his skin completely drained of all color. That wasn't good, and she was beginning to worry if he'd make it. She just couldn't let anyone else know that.

"Alright, as soon as we land, Fishlegs and I will take Hiccup to Gothi." Astrid readjusted the rope securing his unconscious form to Stormfly. "Ruff, Tuff, you two go get Stoick. Snotlout, make sure Toothless gets home alright."

"You're trusting _them _to get Stoick?" Snotlout asked, gesturing to the twins.

"Yes, I am, and you better do your part as well." For as dumb as the twins could be, Astrid still trusted them to come through when they needed them. Snotlout, on the other hand…

Astrid sighed and looked behind their flight group. She could just make out the shape of Toothless as he sprinted after them. She felt bad about forcing him to follow on the ground, but knew he understood; still, that didn't stop her from wishing she could fly him.

"Astrid?" The girl turned toward the Gronckle and her rider. "We're about a minute out," Fishlegs said, pointing ahead. Astrid turned to see the ornate buildings of their village coming into view.

"Everyone, do as I said!" Astrid called out to the Riders. "We're doing it for Hiccup."

"For Hiccup!" Three of the remaining four voices called back.

"Snotlout…"

"Fine! For Hiccup!"

Once the Riders entered Berk, they split up.

[-]

Stormfly and Meatlug landed with a thud at the peak of the mountain on Berk. Fishlegs worked quickly to get Hiccup safely off of the Nadder while Astrid ran into Gothi's hut. The mute elder was busy at her smelting pot, mixing a new batch of medicine.

"Gothi! We need your help! It's Hiccup, he's-"

The woman held up her hand, silencing the teen. The healer then walked out of her hut, to where Fishlegs was standing with the chief's son limp in his grasp. Sprinkling sand onto the wooden planks, she scribbled a few runes into it with her staff.

Fishlegs, being one of the few who could read her writing, translated. "Uh, she says to bring him to his house. Her…" he squinted, unsure if he was reading it right. "Her fire's not big enough. She'll grab her supplies and ride with you."

Confused, but not going to question the elder, Astrid nodded, pulling the rope off her dragon and tossing it onto Meatlug. "You might want this."

[-]

Of all the things Stoick would've expected the Thorston twins to say when they came bursting through the Great Hall doors, this definitely wasn't it.

"Chief! We found Hiccup!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Yeah, but he's not doing so good! He was like, almost dead when we found him," Tuffnut added, earning him an elbow to the ribs by his twin. "What'd I say?"

However, Stoick was no longer listening to the twins as they began arguing amongst themselves. He was running to the doors. His son needed him.

[-]

"Augh, I can't believe Astrid's making me wait for Toothless," Snotlout grumbled. "It's freezing out here. I just wanna go home." The boy kicked at the snow, pulling his coat higher. "Why does he even need someone to make sure he gets back? He's a Night Fury, for Thor's sake. He can just blast anything in his way." Snotlout turned to his dragon. "Whaddya say, Hooky? Wanna just leave?" He made a move to get onto the Nightmare's saddle, only for Hookfang to snarl and move out of his range.

"What? You actually want to stay here and wait?" Another snarl. "Typical. Everyone _loves_ Hiccup and his dragon." Snotlout sighed, plopping down in the snow and leaning back on Hookfang's wing. "I guess they have a reason to. He's the one who ended the dragon war and killed the Red Death and all. I suppose we can't just let his dragon fend for himself out here."

Hookfang snorted. _"You care, too, y'know."_

"Shut up, Hookfang." Snotlout elbowed his dragon, then looked back out the direction they flew in from. He could see something dark in the distance, coming toward them. "It's Toothless!"

Said Night Fury bounded up to them, only giving them a glance before continuing into Berk. After all, he had a human to check on.

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**Join me tomorrow for more!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Everyone is back in Berk! Enjoy the second to last chapter!**

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Stoick burst through the doors of his house, yelling Hiccup's name.

"Over here, chief," Astrid called from by the hearth.

"What happened to him? Is he okay? Where's Toothless?" Stoick made his way over to where Hiccup's bed had been brought downstairs and pushed right up to the fire, his boot and riding vest hanging nearby to dry.

"We're not entirely sure what happened, but we found him like this. Gothi says he has hypothermia, and needs to get his body heat back, but he'll be okay. Toothless had to follow us back on foot, so he's still on his way."

Stoick put a hand to his son's forehead, concerned by how cold he felt. "I'm going to switch out his blanket for a warmer one." The father pulled off his cover, only to pause again. "Wha' happened to his leg?" He almost laughed at the question; Hiccup hadn't had his leg for almost a year. "The prosthetic, I mean."

"We're not sure about that either. Fishlegs found part of it where it appeared he and Toothless first crashed. I don't know where the rest is."

"Well, maybe that'll finally make him stay in bed and rest for once." Stoick chuckled, relieved his son was home safe. He left to retrieve the other blanket.

Astrid didn't want to tell him that didn't stop Hiccup from trying to fly Toothless. Then again, she had a feeling he already knew that his son would try and escape bedrest nonetheless.

A roar outside drew the conscious humans' attention.

"Was that-" Astrid didn't get to finish her question before the black reptile came barreling through the door, knocking over several baskets in the process.

"Toothless! Calm yerself!" Stoick yelled at the dragon. Toothless didn't appear to care and continued up to the bed where his human was asleep.

_"Hiccup! I was so worried!" _Toothless started licking the side of his friend's face, but pulled back, concerned, when he didn't respond.

"He's still unconscious, Toothless. From the cold," Astrid scratched the top of the Fury's head. "But he's going to be okay." She turned from the dragon to Stoick. "I'll let you guys be," she said before excusing herself and leaving the hut.

"How 'bout we get yeh out of that saddle?" Stoick said, coming over to Toothless. Said dragon made no objections, considering it needed repairs anyway. "Wha'd yeh do to yer ropes?" He asked, examining the place where it had been patched up. After closer inspection, he recognized the rope as the piece Hiccup used to keep his prosthetic attached. "Did Hiccup fix it?" Toothless nodded. The chief shook his head; if Hiccup had fixed his dragon's saddle rig, then he'd probably been trying to fly. He would never understand his son's train of thought.

Stoick pulled his chair up to Hiccup's bed, continuing to run his fingers through the boy's auburn hair. He sighed, looking at the color ever so slowly returning to him. "Oh Hiccup… what am I teh do with yeh. Yer just like yer mother. She was an adventurous one, too, always in danger's way. Scared me half teh death, that woman. Yer quite good at tha' too." He chuckled. "But tha's a good thing, I guess. You've got a lot of fight in yeh, Hiccup. I knew that the moment yeh were born. Others yer size rarely ever made it. But yeh've never been one teh give up. Through any of what life's thrown at yeh." Stoick smiled at his son, mussing up his hair one last time before standing. "Keep an eye on him, Toothless. I need teh check up on Gobber. He was finishin' meh duties for me." The man offered a pat on the dragon's head before turning and heading back out of the house.

Toothless watched the chief leave, then let his gaze fall back on his human. He was a small boy, but he always looked especially tiny when he was hurt. Toothless reached his head out and pulled the blanket tighter around Hiccup, then turned to the fire and shot a controlled plasma blast into it to revitalize it. It was certainly warm in the hut, but Hiccup needed it. So Toothless wasn't going to complain.

Sighing, the Night Fury curled himself around the end of his friend's bed, laying his head on his paws.

_I'm sorry, Hiccup. Please wake up soon._

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**EEEEEEE Stoick feels! Even when Hiccup's not awake to hear them! Seriously tho, I freakin love father/son moments.**

**Also... did I write three 800 word chapters in a row? WHO AM I?**

**Join me tomorrow for the FINAL CHAPTER! (wow, already? I'm sad now...)**


	14. Chapter 14

**This story was a heck of a lot of fun to write, and I'd like to thank everyone who faved, followed, reviewed, and read it. I really tried my hardest to give it the ending it deserves, and I hope you all enjoy it. **

**Get ready to get hit by the Hiccup/Toothless feels train!**

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Toothless was restless. He didn't like waiting in general, but when the waiting had to do with his human, it was especially hard. When the waiting had to do with his human because he was hurt, that was even worse. Toothless thought he would've been able to handle it better by now, considering how many times he'd done it, but it never got any easier. He should at least feel a little better since he knew it wouldn't be months this time, or days. But even waiting hours felt like torture when his best friend wasn't with him.

"T….thss…"

Toothless' head shot up at the quiet whimper. He looked up to the bed, where he could see his friend beginning to stir.

"Tooth...less…" Hiccup's voice came a little stronger that time. "Where…" the teen rolled over, still not fully aware, and ended up falling off the bed and onto the wooden floor with a yelp, still tangled in the blanket. Toothless immediately jumped to his feet, moving so he could make sure the human was okay. He nudged his friend's head with his nose, getting him to look up. As soon as he did, the boy's unfocused eyes immediately lit up, and he threw his arms around the dragon's neck. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright, Bud."

_"Not as much as I am."_ Toothless returned Hiccup's embrace by pressing his head further into his shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Toothless," Hiccup said, pulling back so he could look into his friend's eyes. "I… I thought I was as good as dead. When we were flying… I could feel myself drifting off. I thought that was it." He cupped his hands around Toothless' cheeks. "You saved me, Bud. Again. Thank you."

_"I should've done more. You were so close..."_ Toothless looked down, not wanting to finish that thought. He didn't even want to imagine how he'd feel if Hiccup hadn't made it.

Hiccup, hearing the regretful tone in Toothless' drones, pulled his head onto his lap, stroking his rough scales gently. "No. Everything you did, it was more than I could've asked for. Nothing said you had to save me, but you did, and I'm grateful for it. If it weren't for you, I'd have been dead almost a year ago. And then again a couple months ago. And then again last week." Toothless glanced up with a slight smile in his eyes. "My point is, Toothless… I could never have asked for someone better than you for a best friend. You put yourself in danger for me, time and time again, and frankly, sometimes I don't deserve it." Toothless rolled his eyes. "I'm serious! Only a muttonhead would hold up a rake to lightning after he'd figured out it likes metal. Or try to fly a dragon while fighting for consciousness _and_ without the leg that _controls_ said dragon."

Toothless chuckled, the sound reverberating through both of them._ "Yeah, probably not your brightest moments."_ After a moment, his expression dropped into concern once more._ "You sure you're okay?"_

Hiccup laid his head on Toothless', breathing in the familiar scent. "I'm fine, Bud. As long as I have you, there's nothing we can't do."

Toothless purred softly, taking in the feeling of having his best friend with him again. Then, he shook the boy off of his head, much to Hiccup's confusion.

_Just hold on a second_. Toothless repositioned himself, then pulled Hiccup closer so he was laying against his side. Once the human was situated, Toothless wrapped his tail around the both of them, laying his fin over Hiccup like a blanket. _That's better._

Hiccup smiled, pulling his legs closer to his chest as he leaned against his dragon, hugging his left front leg. "Thanks, Toothless. For everything." The boy closed his eyes, snuggling into the warmth.

Toothless looked down at his human, thinking about what he'd said.

Hiccup was wrong; Toothless wasn't the lifesaver. He owed everything to this tiny human. For without him, he wouldn't know what it was like to care about someone. He wouldn't know what it was like to have a purpose in life, even if it came with some loss and pain. He wouldn't know how it felt to be loved, to live for someone other than himself. No, Toothless didn't save Hiccup.

Hiccup had saved him.

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**And a wholesome ending to a story in which I was so mean to the characters... Really though, I just felt like it needed to end with only Hiccup and Toothless. Their friendship is just too pure.**

**Once again, I hope you all liked Safe With Me, and I hope you'll join me for the next story! **

**I made a piece of artwork for this final chapter, with Hiccup and Toothless snuggling, so feel free to check it out on my DeviantArt! And with that said... **

**Till next story!**


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